The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper. We welcome supporting or opposing views on any published item. Received May 19, 2025.
Why Worry About Measles?
- People are contagious for eleven to twelve days before they know they are carrying measles. That means they don’t know they’re spreading it. Estimates are that nine out of ten non-immune persons having close contact with a carrier will get the disease. It’s not diagnosed early because early symptoms are like a cold with pink eye; after two to four days of those symptoms, a facial rash may develop and spread to the rest of the body. Only later do a high fever, intense cough, skin rash, spots in the mouth and pneumonia show up.
- Measles can cause life-threatening illnesses: 1/1,000 children who have measles develop encephalitis. In every 10,000 cases, 1-3 people may die..
- There is no antiviral medicine to cure measles. Supportive treatment is the only approach — IV fluids and Vitamin A (for those who are deficient) or oxygen when needed. And in some cases, MMR vaccine or measles immunoglobulin might be useful. (Note: Vitamin A can be toxic for people who are not deficient and should not be used as prevention.)
- It is spreading; there are now more than a thousand reported cases of measles in thirty states.
What About Connecticut?
Presently, there are no cases of measles in Connecticut. That’s most likely true because we have a 95% vaccination rate and thus have herd immunity. To date, vaccinations have been the only proven means of safe prevention and protection from measles.
- Before a vaccine was available, three million to four million people got measles each year; 48,000 were hospitalized; 1,000 got encephalitis and 400-500 died.
- In 1968 an effective vaccine was approved. By 2000, measles was declared eliminated in the United States. It has rebounded with the increased number of people who decline vaccination. Why did it rebound? Because if less than 95% are immune, we lose herd immunity. If 95% are immune, the disease is rare, it doesn’t spread and non-immune persons are much less likely to have contact with it.
What’s The Controversy?
Are vaccines safe? We want to know that vaccines are safe and effective. We want to know what the side effects might be. Is the benefit worth the risk? Here are some links with information about disease versus immunization risks:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/index.html.
https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/vaccine-efficacy-effectiveness-and-protection. (the first link may be discontinued due to cutbacks at the federal level). Learn more about vaccine risk vs. disease risk at PubMed or VAERS online.
What Else Can We Do?
- Be aware of where cases are increasing (check the websites above and our state agency https://portal.ct.gov/dph/searchresults?SearchKeyword=measles). Some agencies have had funding cuts and may not report in the future. State agencies also may be affected.
- If you or family members haven’t been vaccinated or have had the disease before, be careful when traveling by wearing a mask.
- Check the area you plan to travel to by using the link above — the safety net is at risk wherever local, state or national vaccination rates drop and immunity is below 95%.
We hope you find this useful. Please look for other community-oriented letters/articles from the Haddam Democratic Town Committee in the future.
Kate Wessling, M.D., Haddam Democratic Town Committee
